Supreme Court Case: Furman V. Georgia

Words: 161
Pages: 1
Open Document
In an extremely known court case, Furman v. Georgia, the African American defendant, William Furman was sentenced to death via death penalty. This case is extremely prominent when discussing the death penalty because it is the first time in the United States Supreme Court’s history that the Court set aside a death sentence and also the first time the Court took consideration of racism in capital sentencing (Margulies). Furman was robbing a home and a family member discovered him. He tripped and accidentally triggered his gun, killing William J. Micke Jr, a white Coast Guard petty officer. A jury convicted Furman of murder and sentenced him to death. Furman appealed, arguing that a death sentence would “violate his constitutional rights to
Show More

Related Documents: Supreme Court Case: Furman V. Georgia

Supreme Court Case: Furman V. Georgia

Furman v. Georgia, was a United States Supreme Court decision that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty. On August 11, 1967 in Savanna Georgia William Henry Furman was burglarizing a private home when a family member discovered him. He attempted to flee, and in doing so tripped and fell. The gun that he was carrying went off and killing William Micke. When questioned by police, Furman claimed that the firearm was discharged on accident. Upon…

Words 209 - Pages 1

Furman Vs Texas

to hanging, electrocution, firing squad, lethal injection, as well as the use of lethal gas. In 1972 three landmark supreme court cases, Furman v. Georgia, Jackson v. Georgia, and Branch v. Texas, changed the way America used the death penalty. In Furman v. Georgia, Jackson v. Georgia, and Branch v. Texas, the supreme court ruled that the use of capital punishment in these cases was unconstitutional because it allowed the jury to decide whether the accused…

Words 322 - Pages 2

Furman V. Georgia

rulings and reasoning of the Supreme Court decisions in Furman v. Georgia and Gregg v. Georgia respecting whether or not the imposition of the death penalty is a “cruel and unusual punishment” in violation of the Eighth Amendment Furman V Georgia, was a Supreme Court decision that had to do with the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty. In this case a man woke up in the middle of the night to find a burglar named William Henry Furman robbing his house. While…

Words 1504 - Pages 7

The History Of The Death Penalty Paper

Christ is also an extremely well known case in which capital punishment was given based solely on the belief of that one man. Cruel and unusual punishment was not a factor in who died, how they died, and/or why they were put to death. The ideology behind how society was, education level, and biasness towards the convicted were clear factors in sentencing and the outcome of the accused. It was in 1972, that the United States of America received an eye opening case which marked the change to the way capital…

Words 856 - Pages 4

Gregg V. Georgia Case Study

prison on each count. In Furman v Georgia in 1972, the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty systems then in place were unconstitutional violations of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual” punishments. Four years later, with the Gregg v Georgia case, the court said the death penalty was constitutional. And that is what Troy Gregg got sentenced to. Gregg then asked the court to look and see that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment, but the court…

Words 153 - Pages 1

Death Penalty Essay

Death Penalty Emmanuel Vargas CJBS 101 Professor Malkov April 08, 2013 Death Penalty Death Penalty is the penalty of death for the commission of a crime. The first case that was recognized in the United States was the case of Captain George Kendall in Jamestown, Virginia in 1608; he was executed for being a spy for Spain. The United States started to use killing methods such as: electric chair, firing squad, hanging, stoning, decapitation, gas chamber but the most common was the…

Words 1298 - Pages 6

Cruel And Unusual Punishment

individuals. Even though, our country and other countries have the death penalty and capital punishment which occurs when someone who has been charged with a first-degree murder or something else related to a murder. Since nineteen seventy-six the Court has ruled that the death penalty does not inherently violate the Eighth Amendment. Therefore, I will be talking to you about the history of Cruel and Unusual Punishment, four primary dimensions, and inmate interest story. The histories of Cruel and…

Words 813 - Pages 4

CRJU 100 REACTION PAPER

With the death penalty being so controversy there are many cases where the eight amendment comes into play and whether it is considered the right decision. There is a procedure guidelines that must be followed when giving the death penalty. The bifurcated process, and all the states that have the death penalty have laws based on this process (Gaines & Miller, 2013). First the person is taking into custody, and then brought before the court to hear the charges and enter a plea. Then it is determined…

Words 1777 - Pages 8

Biography Of William J. Brennan

of twenty-five (Supreme Court History). During his years as a college undergrad he married Marjorie Leonard and eventually had three children. WWII then happened, and Brennan served well becoming a Colonel and the recipient of the Legion of Merit award. After returning to private practice in the late 1940s, he was invited to join the Supreme Court and joined. He was offered the position by Governor Alfred E. Driscoll. In 1964 he was a part of the 1964 case New York Times v. Sullivan in which…

Words 303 - Pages 2

Violence In James Fieser's Capital Punishment

into society. The verdicts were decided by a group of townsmen that were nominated by the people due to their respect among the people in the town. The people nominated to act as the jury to the town served as the judge, jury and prosecution of each case, this meant it was up to them to investigate the crime, decide if they are guilty or not and then decide how to punish the offender (Gertner). After declaring their independence from the United Kingdom, America could set up a new justice system. America…

Words 2012 - Pages 9